MARKETING FOUNDATIONS FOR NONPROFITS WEBINAR RECAP

On September 25^th Connect360 hosted a webinar for nonprofits that focused on key marketing foundations every organization should have in place. Our featured speakers, Charlotte White and Andrea Urioste from WonderINgroup, reviewed essential steps in four key areas:  Data, Audience, Tracking & Measurement, and Marketing.  Here are some take-away points:

DATA

• Many nonprofits have a large amount of data (names) but do not have an efficient way to store and use those names.
• A good Customer Relationship Management system (CRM) is key, but often nonprofits do not fully understand all the features their CRM offers so they do not leverage all the benefits. Change CRMs if yours is not working for you.
• Remember, Garbage in = Garbage out.

AUDIENCE

• When inputting names into your CRM be sure to tag each name based on their audience segment. Common categories can include: active donors, super donors, lapsed donors, current board members, past board members, corporate sponsors, partners, media, volunteers and current staff.  Add new segments as you grow.
• Tagging names by audience segment allows you to send message-appropriate communications.  You don’t want a donor message also going to board members or volunteers.
• Avoid sending the same message over and over again. Designate a road map for your communications.

TRACKING & MEASUREMENT

• Tracking is the only way to know what is–or isn’t–working for you when you start marketing.
• Input all data into your CRM so you maintain a history. If a donor makes a contribution, your CRM should capture this information for purposes of history, but it should also be set up to generate an acknowledgement message
• Know the source that’s driving your activity – employ tracking services like Google Analytics.

MARKETING

• Have dedicated landing pages based on the message. If it’s a donation message, link directly to the donation landing page rather than the home page.
• Put time into the planning – think about your message and what would appeal to the specific audience segment you’re trying to reach.
• Have a variety of messages so you can switch it up if one message is not resonating. You need to be able to pivot should you find the audience is resonating with something completely unexpected.

If you would like more information on nonprofit marketing fundamentals, let us know.